THEMES AND CHALLENGES OF THE GROUP SHOW Rocky (re)Runs assembled a group of (mostly) young and (mostly) local architects, artists, practitioners, videographers and academics whose collective work examined infrequently studied aspects and places wit
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The common denominator is ROCKY BALBOA- actor Sylvester Stallone’s persona in the multiple ROCKY movies, beginning in 1976, and one of the great mythological figures in local history. And, simultaneously, the Philadelphia setting of his challenges
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MY OWN COLLAGE/MOSAIC MAP OF THE NORTHERN LIBERTIES NEIGHBORHOOD Rocky Balboa ran along the Frankford Elevated right-of-way above Front Street in Northern Liberties forty years ago. A desolate area, decrepit along the river and crowded with aging,
The street pattern of Northern Liberties is as chaotic and as crazed as the lifestyles of the old original residents. Many Leni Lenapi paths collided at a beach below the high river bluff- their summer encampment- but William Penn’s orderly Quaker
Today the neighborhood of Rocky- and of the Pron family and the Drabouski family is all gone- gentrified, condo-ized, interspersed with martini-bars and craft beer emporiums.  The people I knew are all gone….and if still alive, could not afford
The layerings of the background represent the original topography- the hilly terrain had flattened grassy wooded hilltops (in grey) while the ravines and valleys were marshy (in green). The grids only occurred on the plateaus, diagonal Indian paths
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Architect and Jefferson (formerly Philadelphia) University professor ANDREW HART co-curated this show with John Pron. Recognizing that- as the fictional Rocky Balboa is a now a very old man (after 40 years and 5 films) he will need a tomb. Usin
Architect LAURA BLAU of BLUPATH DESIGN is a pioneer in high-performance building and sustainable design and displayed her ITALIAN MARKET PASSIVE HOUSE- the first in the city for a single residence. She is demonstrating that, though the market is
Photographer GARY GRISSOM has prowled the neighborhoods of Philadelphia since 1976- date of the first ROCKY film and has documented the residents’ response to the mythic power of Rocky, including the annual ROCKY RUN.
Architect JULIET WHELAN (of Jibe Design) also paints and her Boxing 1 work acknowledges both “the human spirit…as well as the visceral joy and rage of violence.” Does the sport ruthlessly exploit the boxers’ fighting bodies? And does communal sp
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Artist and designer GABRIELLA D’ANGELO looked at the idolization of Rock.y - champion of resurrection- by creating stained glass windows, as a celebration of the “good Rocky” as an inspiration for overcoming adversity. Architect DIANA NICHOLAS
Architect JOE FATTORE chose to interpret the “bad Rocky”, by creating an installation with a dead body within a closet space, the walls and door shot up with bullet holes. In the past 40 years, gun violence in this city has increased dramatically
Artist A. THOMAS SCHOMBERG is the sculptor of the original Rocky statue (adjacent to the steps of the Art Museum). Living in Colorado, he was not able to attend the show, but he did send a smaller bronze copy of the original, shipped to the galle
Actor SYLVESTER STALLONE , in Philadelphia for the filming of his most recent film in the ROCKY series, scheduled a private visit to the DVAA gallery to view the show.
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